


A Night's Sleep

by TheDogPotato



Category: Whitechapel (TV)
Genre: No Relationship, Sharing a Bed, accidental sleep cuddling, just a smitten Kent and an oblivious Chandler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 10:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19743616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDogPotato/pseuds/TheDogPotato
Summary: Chandler and Kent share a hotel room after a team building exercise





	A Night's Sleep

“Here they are, room 204, 207 and 212. You’ll want to head down that hallway and up one set of stairs. Room 204 is just on the left and the others are down the hall to the right,” a man at reception explained as Chandler was given the keys.

“Thank you,” Chandler replied, inspecting the numbers on the keys to figure out which one to hand to Miles and which to hand to Riley. Kent and Mansell were standing a bit further back, both carrying some extra luggage. The group had been at a team building exercise out of town and had to stay the night. Riley had gotten a single room and Mansell and Miles had been grouped together both being known to snore, leaving Chandler and Kent to share a room. Ever since that had been decided, Kent had dreaded Mansell’s comments, but he’d been respectful enough to not say anything while they were all together. Standing beside him now as the receptionist were telling the others about breakfast and checkout times, Kent imagined Mansell’s grin growing wide.

Just as he’d expected, Mansell soon commented: “Wow dreams really do come true, huh mate?”

Kent glanced over at him but didn’t dignify his comment with a response. That didn’t deter Mansell from continuing: “I hope you brought a shirt to sleep in. It’s gonna be real awkward if he finds out about that tattoo.”

Kent tried ignoring him, but ignoring Mansell had never been his strong suit. He clenched his teeth and the visible annoyance only served to encourage Mansell.

“Also, he’s gonna find it really unattractive if you start drooling, so try not to do that even though we have evidence he has the body of an angel.”

Kent gave up trying to ignore him and turned around to hiss at him: “Would you just shut up?” but beyond that there was nothing he could do to wipe the smug grin off Mansell’s face, and he hated it. Luckily Miles saved him from more comments by shouting at them: “Hey mules, did you pay attention? The rooms are this way.”

Mansell chuckled as he grabbed the luggage and headed over in Miles’ direction satisfied with Kent’s reaction to his teasing. Kent waited a moment, so he didn’t have to walk next to Mansell, but looking up after grabbing the luggage he saw Mansell whispering something to Riley and heard her chuckle as well. Was this crush of his never going to not amuse them? He rolled his eyes and continued on his way. They were the ones making a big deal out of this. He and Chandler were just gonna share a room as colleagues, same as Miles and Mansell. Though Kent knew it wasn’t the same. Mansell did not have a tattoo saying: “Ray” as proof of his years long infatuation with him, and Mansell’s heart probably hadn’t started beating faster upon hearing their sleeping arrangements for the night. It didn’t matter how easily they read him; Kent had a right to be annoyed with their constant teasing. He sighed as he started carrying the luggage up the stairs after the others.

The stairs beneath the worn down dark blue carpet were creaking with every step. Truly a fine accommodation they had been given. Kent hoped the rooms were in better condition. At the top of the stairs Riley turned left.

“Goodnight boys! Sleep well!”

A murmur of “Goodnight” and “Thanks, you too” echoed from the others, but Kent stopped midsentence when he saw the overdramatic wink she gave him after saying: “Sleep well”, she grinned when she noticed this and he shook his head in exasperation.

Chandler had already opened the door to the next room, saying his goodnight to the other two. Kent half-yelled his goodbye at them as he entered the room, so he didn’t have to deal with another look from Mansell. At least that part of the night was over, though he knew it was just gonna start up again at breakfast.

He noticed Chandler had stopped just at the end of the entryway and was staring into the room. He started fearing for the condition of the room. He had the feeling that this rundown hotel would be uncomfortable for Chandler, but even more so if it looked anything like the hallway. He closed the door and joined him.

“I brought your other bag, sir,” he said, setting it aside, before realizing what Chandler was looking at with a frown.

“I’m sorry, we might have to carry this elsewhere. There seems to have been a mistake,” Chandler said. The room had seen its days of use, but it was nowhere as run down as the hallway and didn’t seem filthy. The problem was the amount of beds. A double bed in the middle of the room instead of two single beds.

“Maybe we got it mixed up with Riley. I can go check?” Kent suggested.

Chandler nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Kent dropped his own bag as well and went back to knock on Riley’s door.

She opened it looking quite surprised at someone being at her door so soon.

“Did you get kicked out already?” she asked.

“I think perhaps we got our rooms switched around,” Kent explained.

Riley laughed. “Not unless you both want to fit on a single bed. You might not want to go that fast, dear. You’ll scare him off.”

“Ha. Ha,” Kent replied fed up with their comments and annoyed that he’d have to carry the bags elsewhere due to this mix up.

“Wait what’s wrong with your room?” Riley asked.

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll just have to go back to reception, I guess.”

“Oh well, good luck with that,” Riley said sincerely before saying goodnight again. Kent thanked her and she closed the door. He went back to their room to tell Chandler that the mix up wasn’t on their end, so they should probably go tell reception. Chandler offered to go, so Kent could stay and watch their bags and they wouldn’t have to carry them up and down the rickety stairs.

Kent leant against his luggage waiting for Chandler to come back. He took in the room. It could best be described as homely or cosy. The lights were warm, the bed big and soft with several blankets and pillows. The only other furniture besides a couple of shelves and a place to hang jackets in the entryway were a couple of nightstands on either side of the bed. A small tv hung on the opposite wall, the remote lying on the nightstand closest to the window that had old heavy curtains. Those were the only things in the room that seemed to share an age with the carpet on the stairs outside. The rest of the room while homely seemed new and clean.

The stairs revealed that Chandler was coming back, but the look on his face when he entered the room told Kent he wasn’t bearing good news.

“There are no other rooms left. They’re “sorry for the inconvenience” but they couldn’t do anything about it. The room is too small for a spare bed to be put in here,” Chandler said, clearly frustrated.

Kent gauged the distance between the bed and the wall trying to see if there’d be room for him on the floor. He determined that for Chandler to have a more comfortable night, he could sleep down there.

“It’s okay, sir. I’ll just sleep on the floor,” Kent said. It’d been a while since he used to sleep on the floor when coming home to a friend’s place after a night out, and he was sure his back wasn’t up to that kind of thing anymore, but he couldn’t really see any other ways around this. He couldn’t imagine Chandler ever sleeping on the floor, nor did he want to even suggest it.

“No, Kent, that’s not, I’m sorry if I’m sounding annoyed. I get stressed sleeping anywhere but at my flat. You already have to deal with my… particularities for the night. No reason for anyone to be more uncomfortable than need be.”

Kent blinked, finally starting to realise that he might be sleeping in the same bed as Chandler during the night. God, he hoped the others would never find out.

“Are you sure?” He asked, still uncertain about this whole thing. He could only imagine how uncomfortable Chandler must feel, and he did not want to add to it.

“Yes,” Chandler replied with a couple of small nods. “You can have the duvet, and I’ll take the blankets. They’ll fit into the sheets I brought with me, cause well…” He trailed off, and Kent just nodded. The duvet was a big one designed for two people to sleep under at the same time. Kent would have offered it to Chandler if it hadn’t been for the sheets since it seemed the more comfortable of the two, but at least the homeliness and extra blankets made sure they’d both have something to sleep under.

“Okay, but if we find out it’s uncomfortable, I’m sleeping on the floor,” Kent said, framing it as a “we” so he didn’t make it seem like he was only saying it for Chandler’s sake. “Window or wall?”

“Oh, wall, if that’s okay? That’s the side I usually sleep in.”

“Sure,” Kent said, not having a preference either way. He did notice with interest that this meant Chandler also had a big bed at home. He shook his head, feeling weird about taking notice of such a thing.

“Are you alright?” Chandler asked.

Kent sent him a short smile, looking vaguely in his direction but not daring to meet his eyes. “Yeah, just tired. Been a long day.”

Chandler agreed. Between travel and having to be social all day, it was gonna be nice to finally lie down and get some rest.

“Do you want to use the bathroom first? I’m probably gonna—take a little while,” Chandler said. The way he said it made Kent feel like he’d overstepped some boundary just by being there. He had to remind himself that them sleeping in the same room was not his own idea, so he didn’t have to feel bad about it.

“No, it’s alright. I probably won’t be able to sleep for a bit anyway,” he said, and for the first time, Kent moved away from his luggage and further into the room. He grabbed the blanket from his side of the bed and threw it over on the other side and grabbed the big duvet. Chandler entered the bathroom. A while later, Kent could hear the shower running. He turned on the tv to have some ambience in the room. Nothing was on, so Kent settled on some old movie that went to commercials almost as soon as he’d decided he would stay on that channel. He decided to fish up the things he needed from his luggage, so he’d be ready as soon as Chandler was done. Like Chandler had warned, it did take a while, but that only meant that Kent was able to get as ready for bed as he could before the bathroom was available.

He was back on the bed, vaguely paying attention to the film when he heard the bathroom door open. Eager to get ready for bed so he could sleep he jumped out of bed, gathered up his things and went around the bed to come face to face with Chandler, fresh out of the shower his hair messy from being dried with a towel, his upper body bare and beautiful.

Kent froze for a moment simply staring at Chandler before regaining his composure. He looked down, and kept his head down as, he felt a hot flush creep across his neck and cheeks. He only noticed out of the periphery of his eyes that Chandler had stepped to the side to let him pass. He quickly stepped into the bathroom, the mirror in there confirming what the burning sensation in his cheeks had already told him. He was as red as a beet in the face. He really hoped Chandler hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

Mansell’s teasing about Chandler having the body of an angel and about Kent drooling seemed extra relevant now. God, Kent couldn’t be more obvious if he tried. He decided to take a cold shower to battle that hot flush, but undressing he was only met with the word “Joe” imprinted on his chest. Everything about this was just a reminder of how inappropriate this entire situation was. He almost wanted to go in there, grab his things and put them on the floor were it not for Chandler insisting that none of them should be uncomfortable. Also since they’d already agreed to the sleeping arrangements, it would seem weird, and Chandler would surely start asking questions.

He should know why. He probably already knew. Oh god, why didn’t he just let him sleep on the floor. He must be so uncomfortable sleeping next to him.

Kent realized that he’d said he’d sleep on the floor if they found out it was uncomfortable, so he could just pretend. Lie down for a bit and then go: Oh sorry! I think I’d actually sleep better on the floor. Yeah, that’s what he’d do. Save them both from how inappropriate he was.

As a last thing before exiting the bathroom, he covered his tattoo with an old soft t-shirt, perfect for sleeping in. Chandler was sat up in the bed, a big pillow behind him, the blankets now covered in fresh sheets. He was reading a book, but Kent couldn’t make out the title. The tv was no longer on, but the lamp at the bedside table was, so Kent turned off the main lamp in the room before going over to put his clothes back in his luggage.

He hesitated before going into bed, but not too long. He didn’t want to make this weirder than it already was.

“I hope you don’t mind if I read a bit more?” Chandler asked.

“Oh no that’s fine!” Kent said battling with the larger than normal duvet. “I’ll just scroll for a bit anyway!” he said finding his phone on the nightstand.

The first thing he saw when he clicked on his phone was a cheeky message from his sister who had obviously been informed about their sleeping arrangements by Mansell. He automatically turned the phone away from Chandler even though he was quietly reading his book and not peeking at his phone, before sending her a grumpy reply. After exhausting the social medias that he only had a vague interest in anymore, he set his phone aside and went to turn off the lamp at his side.

“Don’t worry about reading, sir. I’ll just try to sleep. Goodnight!” He said with the plan of relocating to the floor shortly after.

“Goodnight, Kent,” Chandler replied, and the words together made butterflies flutter in his stomach. He cursed himself. They were colleagues on a business trip. Why was he so pathetic?

He cocooned himself in the duvet, trying to think of anything else, but the presence of someone else next to him was hard to ignore and so was the fact that that presence was Chandler. Try as he might to tell himself how pathetic and inappropriate he was for feeling the way he did about someone who didn’t feel that way about him and who also happened to be stuck in the same bed as him for the next 5-10 minutes, he couldn’t stop the butterflies from fluttering. It was a pleasant feeling though. He felt warm and fuzzy, and eventually his mind drifted off to other topics than chastising himself. By then, sleep soon followed.

*

Chandler woke up feeling very tired. He briefly wondered what time it was before noticing an unfamiliar weight around his chest and a regular puff of air across his back. He froze upon realizing that Kent was currently clinging to him in his sleep. His first thought was to get out of bed and out of this situation but doing that would almost certainly wake up Kent and embarrass him for something he’d done in his sleep. Chandler didn’t want that. Kent would roll over eventually.

The feeling that there was no escape quickly made Chandler anxious. No, he had to give himself an out. Thinking there was no escape would only serve to make him more uncomfortable, and god knows he’d been feeling uncomfortable. He’d warned Kent about the time he might take in the bathroom despite not wanting to share too much about his ocd, but having to sleep in a hotel heightened his anxiety and he knew this meant he would take much longer trying to calm down. He’d only realized how long he took when he saw how quickly Kent was rushing to the bathroom after him. At least Kent hadn’t been bothered by him having to calm down after the day by reading and had been able to go to sleep despite it.

Chandler decided that his out was gonna be time. He’d give it 10 minutes for Kent to roll over and if he hadn’t by then, Chandler would get up quickly, not address how far into his side of the bed Kent was if he woke up and make up an excuse about not being able to sleep.

Shortly after Kent shifted behind him but not to roll over on his other side. His soft hair tickled the back of Chandler’s neck before his forehead came to rest between Chandler’s shoulder blades, his arm draped around Chandler’s chest tightened so Chandler was almost pulled closer. Chandler’s whole body went tense at this. 9 minutes, then he would get up. Give Kent a chance. Plus he would like to sleep more. He hadn’t been able to check the time on his phone, but he felt very tired, and the room was still quite dark, so it had to be very early in the morning.

He tried to focus on other things to think about. The number of roses on the wallpaper. He began counting but soon found the rhythm of his counting to be matching the breaths across his back, and instead of counting roses, he started focusing on the breaths. The steady rhythm was oddly calming, and while focusing on it, his own breath subconsciously started matching it. His lids grew heavy. Somewhere in the back of the mind he was reminded that there was something off with this, but all he felt was a comforting weight and warmth and that slow steady breath.

*

Kent immediately noticed something was off when he woke up. His arm was up too high, falling against something warm and – oh no. He immediately withdrew his arm, then waited for 10 tense seconds where he realised the sudden movement might have woken up Chandler and alerted him to the awkward situation caused by Kent in his sleep. Why’d he have to go and be so clingy. And with _Chandler_ of all people. He could not imagine his reaction, but he’d witnessed Chandler being panicked before and he did not want to be the cause of it. Slowly he turned around in bed, actually getting a minimum of distance between him and Chandler. He’d practically been glued to him.

He waited another moment after rolling over just to see if Chandler might have been woken up by that. He briefly regretted not fully taking in what it had felt like, but instantly distanced himself from that thought. This was invasive and he hadn’t done it on purpose. It was just a really unfortunate thing that had happened, but nobody had to know about it.

Well except for himself. Something he’d rather have been without, but the most important thing was that Chandler didn’t know about it.

At this point he could safely say that Chandler was still sleeping. He got out of bed, gathered his things to go to the bathroom and glanced over at Chandler, who looked peaceful and calm and _asleep_. He’d be none of those things if he knew, so that was a good thing. It was just another weird thing that a not entirely conscious Kent decided to do about his crush, like that dumb tattoo of his. Just another thing for him to beat himself up over, but it wouldn’t ruin anything. Kent knew he could be as professional as ever and as far as everyone else were concerned, well they were none the wiser.

When he exited the bathroom, Chandler was awake. Kent gave him what he hoped was a natural smile before explaining he’d go down to breakfast early.

Kent descended the creaky stairs and found his way to the breakfast room where Miles was already enjoying a cup of tea and some breakfast. Besides him there were only a few people quietly eating, all too tired to make conversation.

Kent walked over to sit besides Miles.

“You’re up early?” Miles’ intonation indicated the statement was a question.

“Hmm,” Kent croaked, his voice not fully warmed up from disuse. “Didn’t sleep that well.” He actually felt quite well rested despite the time of day, but it seemed like the easiest excuse.

“My bed was shit too; way too soft, I felt like I was being swallowed up by a springy jaw. Probably would have slept better if I’d slept on the floor.”

Kent stared at him panicked for a short moment thinking the comment about sleeping on the floor might be a hint that Miles knew something, but he realized that’d be impossible and glanced about the room instead. He registered Miles’ furrowed brow out of the corner of his eye. Of course Miles had noticed his short panicked reaction. He was about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

“And I’ll tell you, being a snorer doesn’t make you immune to other people’s snoring, so you can thank me for taking that bullet,” Miles smiled. Kent returned the smile, happy that Miles unlike Mansell didn’t pounce on him every time he saw an opportunity. “I’ll gladly take payment in the form of another cuppa!”

“Sure, Skip!” He got up and brought back 2 cups of tea, setting them both aside before he took a walk around the uninspired breakfast buffet to gather a somewhat appetizing breakfast meal. He’d grabbed a glass of what looked to be thinned down orange juice as well and was maneuvering between tables when he almost bumped into Chandler, nearly spilling the juice in the progress.

“Sir!” He said in surprise.

Chandler seemed surprised as well, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times before he stammered out a: “Kent! Good morning” as if they hadn’t already said that earlier in the morning.

Kent could feel himself going red in the face already, thinking about how he'd woken up, and wanting to distract from that he held up the glass of orange juice a bit too quickly, spilling it a bit across the sides: “Almost spilled this!” He said with an unsure chuckle.

“Oh,” Chandler said simply, then went silent looking from the glass to Kent and unsurely around the room. Kent slowly lowered the cup again so as not to spill from it another time. The awkwardness between them was palpable. Kent needed to get himself together. Chandler didn’t know what had happened, so Kent just needed to act normal and things would be as they always were.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to finding some food,” he said before hurriedly heading back to the table where Miles had been sitting and observing the whole thing. Even if he hadn’t, Kent’s skin was currently burning, acting as a beacon for everyone to see how he was feeling. He wished he’d brought a hoodie to hide away in. 

Miles shook his head as Kent sat back down. “Looking at that display, I guess I should be glad all I had was some loud snoring.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thought it'd be fun to reference the tattoo from "Inked above my heart" so I guess they're related.
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


End file.
